[tough]

I can see how students would be first users of this kinda of tech but am not on those spheres, but I believe you.

As per spammy applications, hasn't always been this the case and now made worse due to the cheapness of -generating- plausible data?

I think ghost-applicants where existent already before AI where consultant companies would pool people to try and get a position on a high paying job and just do consultancy/outsourcing things underneath, many such cases before the advent of AI.

AI just accelerates no?

[acdha]

Yes, AI is effectively a very strong catalyst because it drives down the cost so much. Kids cheated before but it was more work and higher risk, people faked images before but most were too lazy to make high quality fakes, etc.